


Say it isn’t So

by Phoebe_Snow



Series: Your Touch is Like Magic [16]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Confessions, Developing Relationship, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Imagine your OTP, Jealousy, Light Angst, Misunderstandings, Rare Pairings, Romance, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoebe_Snow/pseuds/Phoebe_Snow
Summary: James sees the bond between Steve and Wanda and mistakes it for something it isn’t.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Wanda Maximoff, Steve Rogers & Wanda Maximoff
Series: Your Touch is Like Magic [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1027895
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Say it isn’t So

**Author's Note:**

> We missed out on so many details about character's personal lives in the MCU. For instance, there was a guitar in Wanda's bedroom briefly shown during the scene when Steve talks to her in CW. I don't think I’ve ever addressed it in my previous fics either. This story touches on that and adds Winterwitch to the plot. I hope you guys enjoy it!❤️

* * *

The melodic sound of a guitar accompanied by a young woman's voice reached James' ears as he walked down the hall. His lips raised in a smile and he followed the singing in curiosity. Stopping outside of Wanda's room, he peeked through the half-open door. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, lithe fingers playing her instrument as she sang a song he’d never heard before.

In all the time they spent together, she'd never told him that she could sing! Maybe she felt insecure about her voice or she just liked to sing in solitude. Some people preferred it that way, singing in the privacy of their shower or in the car with the windows rolled up.

James was quiet himself, so he understood that feeling. Back in the forties and before he was HYDRA's Winter Soldier, he was a known ladykiller and a real charmer. It was never difficult for him to capture people’s attention. Now, he was the opposite. He had no problem listening to someone else talk, taking a backseat to events and just observing others.

Steve was the first one to notice his best friend had become more introverted and, although James said little, his words had a lot of meaning. Wanda had the same kind of temperament and that was partly why they got along so well.

However, the biggest reason they were such good friends was that she'd been inside of his mind numerous times. It had taken four months of daily therapy using her psionics to heal his broken mind, but she succeeded.

As one would believe, being inside someone else's mind was an intimate business and you develop a bond doing such a thing. Steve was still James' best friend, but as far as understanding his pain and the scars that the Winter Soldier had left on his mind, Wanda was the one person who could truly empathize.

He continued to watch her sing, hoping she wouldn’t catch his eye and become angry with him. It wasn't his intention to be a creep, but he liked the sound of her voice and he wanted to hear her finish her song.

Everyone on the team knew she had a guitar, but only Steve, Sam, Natasha and James himself had ever heard her play. All this time, James thought she could just play tan instrument, and now, he being entranced by the beautifully husky sound of Wanda's voice.

The sound of hands clapping broke James out of his reverie and he looked around Wanda’s room for another person. Sure enough, Steve sat on a beanbag chair across the room, a big smile on his face as he clapped.

_What’s he doing in here?_

James hated that his thought came off as jealous, but he couldn’t help but be surprised by the appearance of his best friend there.

"That was so good, Wanda! You have a beautiful voice." The blond stood up and crossed the room to give her a hug.

She smiled and returned the embrace, holding her guitar to the side so it wouldn’t get squashed between them. "You're very kind, Steve."

Because Steve’s body was partially turned away from the door, James couldn’t see his face, but he was sure his friend wore an expression of concern. If there was anything the soldier was good at it was building up his teammates and supporting them whenever they needed it. That was one of the reasons why he was such a great leader. He put his team's needs first all the time, even above himself.

"I know it wasn’t easy, but I’m proud of you for opening yourself up and sharing that song with me." The blond pecked Wanda on the forehead.

"Thank you," she murmured, a tiny smile on her lips as she buried her face in his chest and her hands went around his waist.

James felt his stomach tighten and his face fell. From the intimacy of this moment, he sensed that Steve and Wanda were close, much closer than he originally believed. Maybe they were romantically involved? Neither one of them made any kind of declarations or hints that they were in a relationship, but they sure looked cosy in each other's arms.

Swallowing hard, James softly padded down the hall. He could only hope that what he saw was nothing more than a friendly encounter between two good friends. It would be terrible if Steve was involved with the woman he had eyes on.

* * *

Yawning, James made his way to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. It was a chilly that morning, so he decided to fix a bowl of cream of wheat and accompany it with a nice, hot cup of coffee. He used the Keurig and after some deliberation, he chose an espresso coffee pod. For creamer, he picked plain vanilla, but only a small amount because he liked his coffee to still taste like coffee. He also put a spoonful of cane sugar in it, but that’s it.

Once he finished making his cereal, he said a quick prayer and started eating. Halfway through his food, he heard footsteps behind him and Wanda appeared in the kitchen. "Good morning," she said, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Morning." Lifting the spoon to his mouth again, he kept eating, but had his eyes on her. She was wearing a long sleep shirt that stopped right above her knees. It was one of her favorites, the Disney one with the Genie on it. He couldn’t help smiling at the sight because he knew about her love for cartoons.

She opened the refrigerator door and looked inside searching for something to eat. After a few moments of moving things around, she sighed. "Great. I'm out of yogurt."

"Ahh, now you're gonna have to eat real food like the rest of us," he teased.

"I **do** eat real food, James," came her reply. "I was going to add some granola to it and eat a couple of eggs." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Eggs and yogurt with granola? That’s a weird combination."

"Not unless you're eating them all together." She took out a carton of milk and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. "I'll just have to eat some cereal."

"You ate the rest of your Lucky Charms last night, remember?"

"Ugh, that's right. I was gonna go to the store, but I got sleepy so I went to bed early." The brunette groaned and rubbed her temples for a few seconds. Then she looked at James with a smile. "You want to share some of your cereal with a starving woman?"

"Wanda, the only cereal I eat is cream of wheat and muesli, remember? You hate both."

"Why do you have such bad taste in breakfast cereal?" She scrunched up her nose at him.

"Excuse you. My taste is superior."

"Keep telling yourself that, James." Wanda laughed and looked through the cupboard for cereal.

"You know, you could just eat granola by itself."

"Ew." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I never eat it dry."

"Okay. Eat it with milk."

"That’s just as bad as eating muesli."

"No, it’s not. You have to add fruit and nuts to make it muesli."

"I still don’t want it."

He shook his head at her refusal to budge. "And I thought Steve was stubborn."

"Oh! Steve. That’s it! I’ll ask him for some of his Cheerios."

"Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. Steve doesn’t share his cereal with anyone, even me."

"You and I are different. All I have to do is look at him with pleading eyes and he’ll give me what I want. You can’t pull that look off, so that’s why you can’t get him to give you any Cheerios."

"Who’s talking about Cheerios?" Steve walked into the kitchen with an questioning expression on his face.

"Steve! Listen, could I have some of your cereal? I’m all out and I don’t feel like going to the store to get more right now." Wanda looked up at the soldier expectantly and surprisingly, he nodded.

"Sure. Go ahead. You need to put something in your stomach."

"Thank you!" She beamed and gave him a hug, pressing her face to his chest and squeezing his side gently.

"You’re welcome." There was a softness in his eyes that no one could miss.

This interaction wasn’t lost on James and he found himself gripping his spoon handle a lot harder than he intended. He held it so tightly that he bend it out of shape - he’d been holding the utensil with his mechanical hand. It was stupid of him to get upset. Steve and Wanda being close shouldn’t bother him, but it did.

Their affectionate touches were annoying to witness and he hated having to be in the same room with them while they got all cute and coupley around each other. The good thing was they weren’t making out in front of him, but seeing them be so intimate wasn’t helpful either. If she were any other woman, James would be happy for Steve, but he liked Wanda a lot, so the green monster of jealousy reared its ugly head.

Ignoring them, James finished his breakfast with speed, rinsed his dishes out and left the kitchen as soon as possible. He couldn’t stand to watch them fawn all over one another.

* * *

James had just finished taking a shower and decided that he wanted to see a movie. He liked action films, but sometimes the dramas and comedies were good too. The theater in the living room had high definition and bluray players as well as a Dolby surround sound system. There was an impressive collection of physical media for those like James, who preferred them. However, Hulu, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime streaming services were installed and ready to use at any time for the viewer's pleasure.

When he was in the living room, it took James an hour to find a movie he thought he’d like. Sam had told him about a movie franchise called The Fast and the Furious. They were supposed to be really good and a lot of people liked them. With this in mind, James put on the first film to see what it was like. If he enjoyed it, he’d watch the others.

Once it was finished, he realized that Sam was right - what a shocker. The movie was good and he liked it a lot. So he put on 2 Fast 2 Furious on and put his feet up on the coffee table. At the halfway point, he paused it to make popcorn and get a soda from the fridge. Wanda was sitting on the couch when he came back to the living room.

"Hey," she said with a little wave. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not. The more, the merrier. I didn’t know you like these movies."

"Oh, I love them. They’re not just about cars; they’re also about a group of people who become a family. Kinda like our team."

"Sounds good to me." James gave her the bowl of popcorn and they watched the film together. He tried not to pay too much attention to the fact that she was a few inches away from him and their legs occasionally brushed against each other. Unfortunately, that was impossible. Her presence was intoxicating.

The coconut and vanilla shampoo she always used permeated his senses, making him realize that she must have taken a shower before coming in the living room. Wanda had a tendency to rub shea butter on her skin to keep it moisturized, so her silky soft hand met his every time their fingers touched when they dug into the popcorn bowl.

Her focus was on the film, so she didn’t notice him looking at her. That happened to be in his favor because if she’d have seen him staring, she would’ve asked questions and that would’ve made things awkward. At one point Wanda paused the movie so she could get something to drink, but James volunteered to get her the beverage. She thanked him and told him that she would like a cream soda.

In the kitchen James was preparing her drink and simultaneously trying to build up the courage to tell Wanda how he felt about her. If only he were like his old self then maybe...no, if he were the way he used to be in the forties she would’ve thought he was just trying to get in her pants - okay, he _had_ fantasized about that a handful of times, but this was Wanda Maximoff for crying out loud.

If it turned out that she liked him in return and was fine with him getting in her pants, then he would be happy to oblige her. First and foremost, though, he wanted their friendship to grow a bit deeper before anything physical happened between them. And all honesty, he wasn’t so sure that he wanted to have sex with anyone unless he loved them.

"I’ve been standing in this kitchen for five minutes. The sooner I tell her, the better." He steeled himself and, with her bottle of cold cream soda in hand, he made his way back to the living room. Unfortunately, when he saw who was sitting next to Wanda on the couch, he stopped in his tracks.

Steve was sitting on her right, chatting away with her about something and had his arm resting on the back of the couch. James didn’t know what they were talking about, but it was obvious that it was something intimate because she touched his hair and giggled.

Damn it. _Again_? What was going on with those two? Irritation bubbled up inside and before he could stop himself, James stomped over so he was in their direct line of sight, set the bottle on the coffee table and blurted out, "How long have you guys been dating?"

Steve and Wanda stared at him in surprise, taken aback by his outburst.

"Dating? _Us?_ Wanda and I are just friends, Buck." Steve chuckled.

"Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that when it seems like every time I see you two, you’re cozying up together."

"What are you talking about? When?" Wanda spoke now and she leaned forward, brow furrowed, but obviously curious to hear what he had to say.

"Okay. A few days ago I heard you playing your guitar and singing a song. You've played before for the rest of us, but nobody has ever heard you sing. At best, we’ve heard you hum and that’s it. So you've only sung for Steve. Then yesterday, you got him to share his cereal with you when he doesn’t share his Cheerios with **anyone**. And just now, you both were giggling and acting like a couple who's sharing an inside joke. What else am I supposed to think when I see you two so chummy all the time?"

"Bucky-", Steve started to speak, but Wanda held up her hand to stop him.

"Let me explain. James, Steve and I are _only_ friends. That’s all. I promise. You remember how I told you that it was hard for me when Pietro died?"

He nodded.

"Few people can understand the bond he and I shared. After our parents died, we were all each other had. Pietro was like half of myself and as he died, I felt it. There was a place in my heart that used to be filled, but it was empty when he was gone. Joining the Avengers was the best thing that could’ve happened to me at that time."

"They all knew what I had done, that I’d worked with HYDRA by choice. It's true that I didn’t know who they truly were, that they used and exploited me and my brother, but I joined them of my own free will. After we stopped Ultron and saved Sokovia, Steve could’ve had me turned in as an enemy of the state, but he decided to give me a chance. He gave me a home."

"No one could ever take the place of Pietro, but as I got to know all of you, especially Steve, Natasha, Sam and you, that hole in my heart began to fill again. The Avengers are my family now and they’re just as important to me as if they were kin. Steve is like an older brother to me."

"Steve asked me to play my guitar and sing one of the traditional Sokovian songs for him since no one was around, so I did. I haven’t sang in the presence of anyone since Pietro died and that made it a big deal for me."

James felt embarrassment rush over him and his cheeks grew red. Great. Now he looked like a complete moron in front of his best friend and the woman he liked. "I’m sorry," he said in a low voice and turned to leave. He hasn’t gotten too far down the hall before Wanda called his name and was running after him.

"Wait! James, wait!"

He wanted to keep going, but it would’ve been rude to just ignore her, so he reluctantly stopped and looked at her. There was no way he could save face after that embarrassing scene, so he simply waited for her to speak.

Sighing, the brunette said, "I know how you feel about me."

"You do?"

"Yes. During our therapy sessions I sensed that your thoughts towards me had changed, deepened really. You’re very good at controlling your facial expressions when it comes to shielding your stronger emotions, but your mind is almost like an open book. I don’t have to read it to know what you’re thinking because I feel it."

"Oh...."

"That’s not a bad thing!" She touched his shoulder to reassure him. "I’m flattered by your thoughts and I'm glad you like me. I like you too."

Hope began to spring up inside of him and his eyes widened in joy. "But you never said anything."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "I was waiting for you to speak up."

"Me? I thought women these days liked taking charge when it came to matters of the heart."

"Some do and some don’t. It depends more on the person in question than their gender. Remember, I’ve been inside your mind. The idea of anyone doing that after what you experienced at the hands of HYDRA was terrifying to you until I finally convinced you to let me try. After that, I decided it would be best if I let you take the reins and confess how you felt. Although I was nearly on the verge of pushing you up against the wall and kissing you to show you that I return your feelings."

"Wow. I guess I should’ve stepped up then." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah. You should have, but that’s okay. I forgive you for wasting so much time. Honestly, you’re lucky that I don’t like Steve because he is a major hunk."

"Oh, and I’m not?"

"Mm, you’re passable," she let out a laugh when he playfully scowled at her. "Even if I **did** like Steve, I wouldn’t have a chance. He has eyes for a certain redhead."

"Natasha?" James' eyes widened and he slapped his forehead. "Of course! Those two are always going places together. All this time I thought she was just dragging him with her to show him her favorite places or something, but they’ve been seeing each other?"

"Yes. No one else on the team knows because they want to keep it a secret for a while, but I figured it out because it’s _me_."

"I can’t believe I never noticed them before. I must have been too busy watching you."

Wanda's smile was wide and bright as she replied, "It’s some kind of magic."

Her eyes sparkled in mischief as she slid her arms around his waist, pulling him close until their bodies were pressed up against one another.

"In that case, I'm a lucky man."

"Very lucky." Wanda bumped her nose against his and they shared a soft kiss.

In the living room, Steve peeked around the corner and when he saw his friends embracing, he smiled at the scene like a proud father. It was about time those two got together.

**Author's Note:**

> Drop by my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/greenfleeze) or [instagram](http://instagram.com/first.lady.romanogers) and say hi!💞


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